Pipe feeding and coupling device



3 Sheets-Shet 1 nmN om.

Filed June 14, 1937 W. R. POSTLEWAITE PIPE FEEDING AND COUPLING DEVICE E m E m E E a. Q Q EL Inventor WILL/A M R. POSTLEWA ITE Aiiorney & E E. k Q B Q M Q July 18, 1939.

ly 8, 1939. w.-R. Pos'r| E'wAn-|-: 2, ,6

' PIPE san'md AND courmne DEVICE Filed June 14, 1937 3 Sheets -Sheet '2 nummllllllm W QIIIIII/ Inventor WILL/AM R. POSTLEWA/TE y 1939- w. R. POSTL'EWAITE 2, 6,608

PIPE FEEDING AND COUPLING DEVICE Filed June 14, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lllll g III/I 9 nior WILL/AM R. POSTLEWA/TE Patented July 18,1939

, UNITED STATES" PATENT orrice I v 2,166,668 PIPE FEEDING AND cournmo DEVICE ware Application June14, 1937, Serial No; 148,245

'7 Claims. (01. 214-1) This invention relates to the art of handling and feeding pipe 'or other cylindrical objects and particularly refers to means for temporarily coupling together and feeding a succession of lengths 5 of pipe which are to be passed through a continously operating helical feed coating machine adapted to apply a-layr or wrapping of corrosion-resistant material to the outer surface of the pipe. The invention is an improvement overa similar pipe feeding and coupling apparatus described and claimed in thecopendingpatent application assigned to the common assignee here with, filed June 14, 1937, by Joseph F. Putnam, as Serial No. 148,246.,

Certain continuous pipe coating operations require that a helical feed, i. e. a combined rotating and longitudinal motion, be given to the pipe, so that any given point on its outer surface describes a helix, in order that a coating of paint, or

a plastic layer of corrosion resistant material, or a flexible tape adapted to prevent corrosion, may be continuously applied. Another requirement is that successive lengths of pipe be securely aligned and abutted or coupled together during their passage through the device which gives them such a helical motion, and thence through the coating equipment, after which the lengths must be quickly and easily uncoupled or separated, so that they may be stacked or stored for use.

It will be appreciated that, as any one length of pipe advances into, through and out of the helical feed device, the requirements imposed upon the means coupling it to the preceding and to the succeeding lengths-of pipe are severe. As

the pipe length or section approaches the helical 'feed mechanism,,which may be of any known type such as that of PatentNo. 2,112,865, the pipe must be securely coupled to and aligned with the length alreadyin the mechanism so that it 40 will follow the said length. Assuming a counterclockwise direction of rotation of the pipe, the leading part of the coupling, which is secured to the pipe already in the machine, must transmit acounter-clockwise torque to the trailing part of the couplingwhich-is secured to theiollowing pipe length. In order to prevent separation of the two parts of the coupling and the two pipes, a longitudinal force in the direction of motion mustbe imparted to the trailing section of the i0 coupling or to the pipe in which it is secured by some means acting eitherupon the coupling or upon the following pipe section; a

After the coupling joining the two pipes passes through the helical feed mechanism the relative i direction 'of torque between the i two halves or parts of the coupling is reversed from that just described. The trailing part of the coupling must now transmit counter-clockwise torque to the leading part, and .due to the usual requirement that the lengths of pipe be kept in closely abutting contact until they have passed through the coating operation, which ordinarily follows the imparting of the helical motion, it is apparent that the two parts of the couplingmust transmit torque in either direction. This automat m ically precludes any sort of screw thread arrangement, as such would obviously become unscrewed either before or after the coupling passed through the helical feed means, due to. the torque reversal just described. v 15 A further requirement for this service is that after the coupling has passed entirely through the helical feed means and the pipe coating means, the two parts of the said coupling must be readily separable without any extensive rotation or manipulation of the freshly coated, length of pipe, so that the latter may be removed as for storage. I

This invention broadly comprehends a simple coupling for a pipe coating operation of this nature and a means for keeping the two parts thereof, as well as the pipes whichthey join, in close and operative contact before, during and after passage through a helical feed means which may be followed by a pipe coating means, with the 30 added advantage of providing a ready separation of the'coupler parts and'the pipe lengths which they have secured together, after the completion of the coating operation The invention also comprehends a means for transferring a length .35 of pipe from a stationary storage rack onto a car I or carriage which may be included'in the means outlined above, together with means for lowering the length of pipe onto the carriage without dam, age to either and at the proper point in the operation of the transferring apparatus.

As a coupler for temporarily securing together successive lengths of pipe as they are fed into the helical feed apparatus, I prefer a coupling of a simple jaw type that is adapted only for torque transmission, without the addition of lugs or hooks on the inter-engaging" jaws; or equivalent means to make it adapted also for a transmission of the longitudinal force. Such a coupling is described and claimed in my copending patent application Serial No. 28,094, filed June 24, 1935, which issued April 20, 1237, as Patent No. 2,077,-

769. Briefly, it comprises two separable clutch sections with lugs adapted to transmit a torque 1 in either direction, together with certain selfaligning features not essential to this invention.

This invention is not, however, limited to a coup-Elng such as that described above but may also he used with that type described in Patent No. 1,948,956 issued February 27, 1934, to D. W. Eoylan, in which hooks or lugs are provided so that the coupler will transmit a longitudinal force,

as well as a torque.

It is an object of this invention to provide a means for transferring a pipe from a, stationary storage rack to a longitudinally movable means,

' such as a carriage which may be advanced to couple the said pipe to a preceding length which is being advanced helically by any form of helical feed machine.

Another object is to provide animproved form of carriage or longitudinally movable means for advancing a length of pipe and coupling it to a preceding length which has been given a helical motion.

Another object is to provide a means for lowering a length of pipe onto feed means carried by a carriage or the like so as to automatically place the said pipe on the said feed means at the proper position in the travel of thecarriage.

Another object is to provide a means for advancing and for selectively restraining themotion of a carriage or the like which is being used to advance and couple a length of pipe to a. pre-' adapted to freely receive a length or section of pipe, advance the same and couple it to a preceding helically moving section of pipe, and then maintain both of said sections in closely abutting contact until the said first length has been positively engaged by the means which gives it a helical motion.

These andother objects and advantages will be further apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and illustrate a preferred embodiment of an apparatus suitable for carrying out this invention.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a pipe storage rack and a longitudinally moving carriage in position to receive a' pipe therefrom.

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the pipe rack and carriage of Figure 1 and illustrates a pipe on the carriage in position to be lowered to the feedmeans of the said carriage.

Figure 3 is a vertical elevation view similar to Figure. 2, and illustrates the mode of operation of the pipe receiving and lowering means on the carriage. 4

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view on line IV-IV of Figure 2, and illustrates in more detail the pipe receiving and lowering mechanism.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view on line V-V of Figure 3 and illustrates a preferred form of angularly directed elements adapted. to give a helical motion to the pipe which has been lowicd onto said elements.

Figure 6 is a vertical elevation view of the right aieaeos Referring to Figure 6 which could be considered I a general assembly view of .the apparatus, a helical feed device generally represented by It is illustrated as imparting a helical motion to a length of pipe H in the trailing end of which is one section 4! of a separable coupler generally designated l2. A track It is arranged below and parallel to the axis of pipe I i and is adapted to receive any suitable form of carriage I so that the carriage is movable longitudinally with respect to theaxis of pipe ll.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, the carriage I4 is illustrated as beingsubstantially in its pipe receiving position, Track II is provided with a pair ofarms l6 journalled at H and provided with cross-members is at substantially the level of pipe rack l5 (Figure 4). A stop-member I8 is adjustably secured on each of cross-members II to limit the travel of pipe Iii along said crossmembers l8. A spring 2|! is preferably adjustably secured to the lower ends of arms it to limit their motion and to urge them in a clockwise direction on the journals l1.

Carriage H is preferably provided with wheels 2| on axles 22 so that the carriage may be longitudinally moved on track l3. Inclined cams 23 on carriage H are adapted to engage rollers 24 on arms I 6 so tha when the carriage I4 is at its extreme left position arms I will be carried upwardly to the vertical or pipe receiving position shown in Fi ure 2.

One or more pairs of brackets 25 are secured to carriage I4 and are provided with rollers 21 and adjustable bearing plates 28, forming inclined guide elements of the general type disclosed in the copending Joseph F. Putnam application Serial No. 148,248, filed concurrently herewith.

The bearing plates 2| which support and align rollers 21 are each mounted in brackets 25 so as to be movable about an axis AA (Figure 5) which preferably intersects the longitudinal axis of pipe HI and is at an angle of about below the horizontal. Plates II carry freely rotatable resilient faced guide means or skew rollers 21 Journalled therein. It will be obvious that the angle at which plates 22 are set at one side of pipe Ill willbeoppositehand with respectto the angle to which those plates on the opposite side of pipe I II- are adjusted.

In order to selectively move carriage I along track It a hydraulic cylinder Il may be provided between the members of track ll (Figure 6). A piston rod 32 extends from cylinder II and is secured to cross-member 32 on carriage l4. Pipe connections I4 and Ii lead to the respective ends of cylinder SI and are connected by means of a 4-way cock 3. to a source or hydraulic pressure I'L- Suitable manipulation of cock 3' will permit the piston rod 32 of cylinder II to be extended or withdrawn therefrom. In the intermediate position of cock II the position of rod 32 and carriage i may be fixed so that carriage M will be locked with respect to track II.

Itwlllbeappreciatedthaawithplstonrodu' so as to prevent longitudinal motion of carriage on carriage l4. If the angle of inclination of all I4 with respect to the helical feed device l0, any rotative force or torque applied to pipe ill will cause a controlled helical motion of that pipe 'due to the longitudinal or axial component introduced by the fixed skew or inclined rollers 21 the effective rollers 21 is substantially equal to, the helix angle of the helical motion imparted to pipe II by the helical feed device ID, the same helical motion will be applied to the following pipe section III.

In order to provide this rotation component or torque, a separable jaw clutch coupler l2 as illustrated in Figure '7 may be used. In this example, the male section 38 of the coupler is adapted to be fitted into and secured to the right or leading end of pipe I II as by set screw .39, and is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced, radially inwardly extending lugs Ill. The complementary or female section II of the coupler is similarly secured into the trailing end of pipe section II, as by set screw 39, and is provided with a similar series of circumferentially radially outwardly extending lugs 42. When the two halves of the coupler are, engaged by an axial motion, and maintained in contact as by a continuing axially applied force, they will transmit a torque in either direction, due to the interengaging lugs 40' and I2.

Obviously, not all of the brackets 25 need carry rigidly secured rollers '21, as some may be loosely swivelled and serve only to support pipe III, while others'do the actual guiding. In case a coupler is used which will serve to transmit an axial force as well as a torque, such as the one described and claimed in the Boylan Patent No. 1,948,956 cited above, none of rollers 21 need be fixed and bearing plates 28 may-be permitted to adjust themselves to the helix angle which will then be maintained by the combination of the torque and axial force components transmitted by the coupler frompipe H. 4

As soon as the following length of pipe III is actually engaged by the effective means of the helical feed mechanism I0, hydraulic cylinder 3| may be actuated by means of cook 36 to move to the left, thus returning carriage II to the position shown in Figures 1 and 2. Justbefore reaching this position cams 23 on the pipe receiving means i6l8 willengage rollers 24 and lift arms I6 and cross members ID to their vertical or pipe receiving position. A new length of pipe Ill may then be rolled onto cross-members 18 from pipe rack I until the pipe Ill touches the stop-members l9, which serve to center pipe HI over rollers 21. Cock 36 is then turned to move piston rod 32 and carriage ll to the right so that the section III of pipe on that I carriage will be advanced to couple it with the ll of the coupler will be engaged.

i right under the control of hydraulic cylinder 3| will advance pipe HI until the two parts 38 and At the moment of engagement cock 36 is preferably turned and selectively locking it WILLIAM to the intermediate position so that carriage I4 is locked with respect to track l3. The torque imparted to pipe section III willthen be effective to cooperate with the inclined rollers 21 to give a helical motion to pipe Ill. With proper adjustment of rollers 21 this helical motiomwill advance the pipe at the same rate at which helical feed device "I is advancing pipe ll so that the two pipes will be closely abutted and fed forwardly.

Thus it will be apparent that this invention embodies a new and useful means for receiving and lowering a length of pipe upon a second means which is adapted to advance the pipe to couple it with a preceding length which is being helically advanced as in a pipe coating apparatus. Although a specific construction has been described and illustrated, it is obvious that many changes and modifications can be made without departing from the essential features of the invention and all such modifications as are within the scopeof the following claims are embraced thereby.

I claim:

1. A pipe feed device for a helical pipe feed machine comprising a storage rack for pipe, a

carriage movable with respect to said storage rack and adapted to advance a length of pipe into said helical pipe feed machine, and means .for receiving a length of pipe from said storage rack andplacing it upon said carriage while said carriage is aligned with said rack, said last above said carriage.

2. A-pipe feed device according to claim 1, in' which said pipe receiving means is movably supported adjacent said rack and said carriage is adapted to lift said means to the'ievel ofsaid rack.

'3. A pipe feed device according to claim 1,.in which saidpipe receiving means is movably supported adjacent said rackand said carriage is provided with a cam member to engage said means to move it to a pipe receiving position and to a pipe releasing position.

4. A pipe feed device according to claim 1, in which said pipe receiving means comprises a pair of hinged members adapted to be lifted to pipe receiving position by said carriage at one part of its travel, and tube lowered by a subsequent movement of said carriage to' release a length machine comprising a storage rack for pipe, a carriage movable with respect to said storage rack and adapted to advance a length of pipe I into said helical pipe feed machine, and means movably supported adjacent said storage rack for receiving a length of pipe from said storage rack and placing it upon. said carriage, said carriage being provided with a cam member to engage said pipe receiving means to move it to a pipe receivingposition and a pipe releasing position.

6. A pipe feed device according to claim 5 in which said pipe receiving means comprises a pair of hinged arms extending across said carriage and above the same.

7. A pipe feed device according to claim 5 with the addition of means for moving said carriage in,a fixed position.

R. POSTLEWAITE. 

